Is thinness contagious? You'll be surprised by the answer!

About The Loh Down On Science

Airs Weekdays 2:31, 3:31 and 5:49 a.m.

The Loh Down on Science is the fun way to get your daily dose of science in less than two minutes. The program explains the world of science with a dash of humor. Hosted by writer/performer and Caltech alumna Sandra Tsing Loh, it's a program for those who love science as well as for those who avoid it!

Our stomachs are chock full of bacteria. More and more, we’re finding that some of them can make us skinny or fat. Studying twins where one was thinner than the other, researchers at Washington University transplanted the twins' gut bacteria into mice.

The transplants worked. Bacteria from thin twins made mice skinny, while microbes from more zaftig twins made mice fat. The mice ate the same amounts, so it had to be the bacteria. Even stranger, fat mice got thinner when they bunked with skinny friends and the two exchanged bacteria.

So where can you get this skinny bacteria? Well, there’s a catch. The transplants only worked if the mice were eating healthy, high-fiber, low-fat diets. Junk-food-loving mice were unaffected by the skinny-making microbes.

So change your diet, then start sharing straws with your thinner friends. One of you will be glad you did.